20 Inspirations
by KaylaDestroyer
Summary: So, I just decided to try one of those little things where you take a word or phrase and make sentences about them. Only...I went a little further. So if you feel like reading randm little pieces of story that have nothign to do with eahc other, come read this! I will be working on 'Rapunzel, Where's Your Tower'


**Hey readers! So yeah, while you all are waiting for me to update Aritoka's story, but here's just a little something I've wanted to try for a while, so here's some little words, phrases,sybjects, song titles, even, that inspire little pieces written by me. Oh, the poilitics quote was one that I read in a book, but I wanted to share it here just because it's so funny. Enjoy and review!**

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**Black:**

It was the only way Diego could describe the eyes of the pirate captain, Gutt. Black. Soulless. Bottomless pits of unfeeling, cruel blackness.

**Battlefield:**

Sid sighed. Diego was a close friend of his, so why was it so hard? Why was the saber constantly willing to slap him over the head? All he wanted was a buddy to hang out with, but it seemed as though Diego considered their friendship grounds a battlefield.

**War:**

Diego could consider his relationship with Soto an all-out war. A struggle for dominance, one that left both bruised and bleeding. But Diego, after many years, realized neither gained anything from the fight.

**Sail Away:**

That served as Shira's motto. She followed the flow of the water, and the direction of the wind. She had sailed away from all of her land-bound problems before, and she would do it again. She could escape Diego too. All she had to do was abstain from imagining his emerald green eyes. From thinking about how his fur reminded her of a sunset. From turning and looking back at the pain on his face...oops.

**Dawn:**

Diego's favorite time of day. Just before the sunrise, when he could sprint through the valley all alone. When he could be in peace. Perhaps someday he'd have a daughter named Dawn...

**Eyes Like Hers:**

They were hard to come by. At least this was so in Diego's perspective. All his pack life he had been surrounded by orange and white fur, and green, gold, or hazel eyes. To find a saber like Shira was unheard of where he had come from. Except the elders; they always told Diego fascinating stories of albino sabers, some with markings, and where they resided. Their lands however were far away from where Diego grew up, and the younger adults in the pack ridiculed such 'fantasies'. Shira in fact shared with Diego when he had first met her that she grew up vice versa.

Diego agreed with the other adults as he grew older, and was never able to see for himself. But then he met Shira. All the old stories came to life in him, and he was dying to ask her about them. About her eyes.

**Chasing the Sun:**

Diego had never envisioned his life to be so full. He had never imagined his later years as more than being an aging saber, trying to decide who he would choose as his successor. He never imagined himself to be having so much adventure, so much _fun_ at this time in his life. He and his herd had come through thick and thin, had grown, and didn't show any signs of slowing down. Now he had Shira by his side; she certainly boded well for more growth. They both saw cubs in the future. Just not how close or how far along their existence started.

But there was one thing Diego knew for sure, one thing that gave him comfort and excitement. Every dawn was a new rhythm starting, a new beat to follow, and new song that lead into another glorious adventure; a golden opportunity to do something worthwhile after relaxing the night away. No matter how many times the daylight faded, no matter how many foes sought the destruction of his life, Diego knew one thing would always happen to the herd in the end.

The entire world would look upon them at the end of each adventure, and find them chasing the rising sun.

Always.

_**Him:**_

Soto. Manny despised the name. Him? No. Not the correct term. It. Ah, yes.

Definitely described the saber much better. A feeling-less creature who sought nothing but the destruction of an innocent child. A human child, granted, but Manny had grown fond of little Pinky, so much so that he realized it was like having his late child again. He had, for a short while, replaced the little mammoth calf, and now Peaches seemed to replace Pinky. But no matter how many days Manny reminded himself the saber was gone, the nightmares still plagued him. Too many nights for him to count, _Its_ face thrust into his own, roaring with a black maw wide open and revealing dozens of deadly sharp teeth. Manny would scream, and attempt to bat the monster away with his trunk, but he never got the chance to defend himself.

Sometimes _It_ would tear viciously into his throat, and Manny's screams would pound in his ears as his neck wracked with pain. But sometimes, another fate would occur. Another large body would propel itself in the way, its throat getting torn open by _It_. And Manny would stare in horror as the poor creature that saved him was thrown into the ground right before him, and his eyes painfully drank in all the grizzly details of his hero's throat being torn apart and the organs pulled out. Then he would snap and chase the beast away, although he never knew how. Then Manny would get a proper look at his hero, and realize the painful truth. Diego was gone; and he was never coming back.

Either ending left him to wake in a cold sweat.

**Try to Remember:**

I try so hard to remember. My mother, my father, all the good times we shared. Cassandra, _Mommy_; so beautiful, orange and white like me. Her golden eyes were like staring into a loving sun that would always shower me with warmth. He warm touch could put me to sleep in an instant, and her lullabies were sung by the most soothing voice. Torez, _Daddy_; I can almost see a hazy image of his scarred body. He fought hard for dominance, to be the alpha.

He wanted me to have a good life, and that was impossible where we lived unless you were at the top. He was orange and white too, I inherited his green eyes and love of sarcasm. At least, that's one of the few things I've managed to figure out on my own. Many sabers knew my father, many feared and respected him. Some just feared him. But there were a few would tell me in explicit detail about all of his mistakes, all the things he shouldn't have done. I wasn't proud of those things, but at least I know no one can be perfect.

I'm proud that the few memories of my father I can still remember are of a loving saber. A scarred man, who smiled upon his one son and wrestled with him, and told him over and over again how much love he harbored for the little boy. I still don't know what exactly had separated me from the loving adults who promised me their love and security...but whatever it was, it had to be powerful. No parents as loving as mine would..._could_ simply abandon their only cub. Perhaps that would be my next quest? To find out why I grew up with Soto, to find out why I am so distant from all other living things.

**Every Time We Touch:**

Elie would feel exuberant. She loved Manny so, so much; it just made her smile to walk beside him, to feel his presence, to feel his protective strength beside her. There was no place she'd rather be than sitting next to him, her trunk entwined with his, snuggled up against his bulk. And his fat, she would add with a giggle.

**Politics:**

It's a weird world; the strong take from the weak, the clever take from the strong, and the government takes from everybody.

**Wish:**

A word Sid thought about often. Or rather, simply thought often. He wished for lots of things, but never got them. Well, except when he first met Diego and Manny. He had been wishing for some good company who wouldn't abandon him. But he also wished for a mate and children. He also wished Diego would stop slapping him upside the head. And he also wished he would stop getting into trouble, so Manny wouldn't have to yell at him so much. But so far, only one had come true. That didn't mean Sid would stop wishing.

**Never Again:**

Never again would he take brash orders from a cold stepfather. Never again would he need to support an entire pack of overly hungry sabers. Now he could relax in knowing that he needed only to hunt for himself, and that no one else even wanted to see him do it. What bliss; his hunting was his own affairs, and none of his company wanted anything to do with it. Never again, as the provider, would he have to wait for his share, and perhaps not get any at all. And as a plus, he got to go wherever the herd took him, which often ended up being a new adventure and or new lands to explore. The pack always stayed in one location, no matter what season or weather.

His new herd moved with the seasons, which meant Diego never ran out of food. He never ran out of anything; food, water, company, adventure, laughs. And he wouldn't have his life any other way.

**Sick:**

A word with more than one meaning. Sick could mean one was ill physically, like a cold, or a disease. Of course, such a thing rarely happened to Crash. He was a carrier of disease, and was immune to just about anything. Sick in the head often meant one was insane, and Crash was used to being called that. Manny often called him 'sick' for finding it outrageously fun to roll around in dung, throw it at others, just use it for his own personal fun. He would always smile in response to such comments and crack a joke about it. It entertained him to no end to disgust Manny.

**Mammoth:**

It usually meant a large, woolly animal that carnivores hunted for their meals. To Diego, it was a species he was circumstantially banned from eating. He personally thought it was the best thing around to eat, but it was too large an animal to take down alone. It was a pack job, and so Diego found himself unable to eat such succulent meat. But there was another factor holding him back. Manny was a cherished friend, so he obviously could not eat the mammoth or hunt his species around him. Ellie was his mate, and had become a dear friend to Diego as well. Her sweet nature seemed to charm everyone.

And Peaches; she had become a wonderful niece to him, almost like his own daughter. How could he terrify her so by attempting to hunt her species? Then he would risk his title of being her favorite uncle. And he liked that title, very, _very_, much. But it could also pertain to size. Mammoth problems were enormous issues that often took a long time and lots of work to solve. Usually Diego despised such problems, but sometimes they simply served for something to do.

**Sunshine:**

Eddie loved the sunshine; it felt warm and was cast down upon earth in rays that looked cool if you viewed them from the right angle. It always woke him up at the perfect time in the morning, and it gave him sight during the day. The nighttime was sometimes creepy to him, so when he was given the chance to stay out during the day, he accepted it gladly.

**Sight:**

Perfect sight. It was something Diego envied. Soto was the only one he had ever told about his eye problems. He had been born with vision that wasn't top quality, so hunting had always been a struggle for him. And if that wasn't bad enough, he had perception problems. Such a flaw was too embarrassing to reveal to his herd. They only looked at his eyes, they saw nothing wrong. They didn't have to _use_ his eyes.

His eyes were a great pain to live with. He couldn't properly see anyone; the details of their faces were foggy and distorted, so he had to rely mostly on the sounds of their voices to discern them. The possums. especially were a pain, he coud almost never tell the two apart. He sometimes wondered what the herd's faces looked like in crisp, clean detail, but resigned to never knowing.

**Playtime:**

It was Peaches's favorite time. The time when she could do mammoth things with her parents, or maybe possum things with two of her uncles. Her sloth uncle would often take her out and show her tons of different foods to enjoy, and the two would eat for a good long time. And then there was her saber uncle.

Uncle Diego; her favorite one of them all. He would always smile at her softly, and would speak to her in a quiet voice. The two would lay in the grass together, roll around wrestling. Peaches would clamber all over him, and sometimes he would give her rides. He would tell her epic stories of adventure, with subplots of love weaved in and sprinkled with humur. The stories made her laugh, and cry, and sigh from the romantic couples. So many things she did with her Uncle Diego; an uncle she wouldn't trade _even_ for a chance to experience the wonderful stories she told him.

She loved him very much. He was almost like a second Daddy.

**Cold:**

Sid often felt cold, he lived in the Ice Age after all. But at night, he could make a warm campfire to sit in front of, and at night, after everyone else had fallen asleep, he would curl up against Diego and sleep soundly in the saber's warmth.

**Forever:**

It was a word that implied a time with no end. In Manny's mind, to be forever with his herd would be a blessing. The perfect description of bliss.

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**So what did you think? Was it any good? REVIEW!**


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